Sunday, 7 April 2013

Last year, Macca turned up to do something for the Olympics Opening ceremony. Despite the fact that this was solo Macca, and not The Beatles, he just played some old Beatles songs. Fair enough, he wrote them. But I have always worried that Macca’s ongoing popularity is because of his past, and not at all because of his present.

And now it’s happening with the “new” bands as well. In the summer of 2012, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds played at T In The Park, and as soon as he dug out “Don’t Look Back In Anger”, it got the biggest reaction of the night. And there was the surreal sight at the Olympics Closing ceremony of a band called Beady Eye doing “Wonderwall”, on the basis that all of them had previously been in Oasis, but only one of them had actually been on the original recording. I found it all a bit retro and depressing.

It makes you wish Oasis were still together. True, they struggled to maintain the brilliance of their early years beyond the first two LP’s, but even towards the end, there were some memorable moments, and the then line up of the band had been (more or less) in situ for nearly a decade, suggesting an element of stability. But then the Gallaghers had one of their famous brotherly bust ups, and that was the end.

Background

You have probably heard all the stories about Oasis’ early years. A Noel-less version of the band was formed called The Rain, after a Beatles song, before changing their name after seeing a venue on an Inspiral Carpets poster called the Swindon Oasis Centre, the band Noel was a roadie for. Noel claimed Oasis were rubbish, and that they would benefit from his songs, his guitar playing and his occasional singing. He joined his brother and friends, and fame and fortune beckoned after they “forced” their way onto the lower rung of a bill at a Glasgow gig, which was attended by Creation Records boss Alan McGee. After the show, he claimed they were the greatest thing since sliced bread, and offered them a deal there and then on the spot.

In late 1993, a 12” promo was sent out to radio, which included a demo of a track called “Columbia”, the re-recorded version of which would appear on their debut LP the next year, and the likes of Radio 1 began to get excited. The buzz surrounding the band was such that their debut single, issued in early 94, “Supersonic”, entered the UK Top 40 at number 31, not a major position when compared to the hits that followed, but very good for a debut 45 by an indie band. By the time the first LP, “Definitely Maybe”, was issued in late summer, subsequent singles had charted higher, the hysteria around the group was building, and as such, it hit the top of the album charts. Things could only get worse. And slowly but surely, that’s kind of what happened.

Following the release of a stand alone single in late 94, “Whatever”, where the band indulged in their Beatles fantasies like never before, the first fruits of the band’s second LP surfaced in April 1995, with the release of “Some Might Say”. It was a towering rocket of a record, although it did sound as though it had been recorded on a broken tape deck, but this ’wall of sound’ feel was what gave it it’s “oomph” factor. As it hit the top of the charts, drummer Tony McCarroll found himself being forced out of the band, supposedly due to tensions within the band, although Noel later claimed that it was because McCarroll was a rubbish drummer. Strangely, the one and only Oasis album which has only ever received great reviews across the board, both when it was released and on later re-evaluations, is “Definitely Maybe” - the only LP McCarroll was on. Ironic, doncha think...

McCarroll was replaced by Alan White, brother of one time Style Council drummer Steve White, and work on the second LP continued. In the summer, the band got embroiled in the now famous Blur V Oasis chart battle, where the bands released their latest singles on the same day in what became the so-called Battle Of Britpop. Blur won, with “Country House” getting to number 1 over Oasis’ “Roll With It”, but it was a curious fight, given that neither of these 45’s were exactly the finest hour for either band. Now, had it been “Popscene” against “Cigarettes And Alcohol”, that would have been different.

History has been re-written now, but critics shrugged their shoulders when “(What’s The Story) Morning Glory” was released in the fall. Melody Maker slagged it off relentlessly, the NME gave it an “OK, not great” 7/10, but Oasis were fast becoming the biggest band in the UK, and the album sold by the bucket load. Because of this, to avoid looking stupid, critics later pretended they had always loved it, and now cite it as the band’s finest LP. I always thought it was pretty good on first listen. And as Blur were about to enter their problematic dark period following the release of “The Great Escape”, Oasis were on an upward trend. They announced a show at the aircraft hanger-like hole that was Earls Court in London, and within four days, had sold it out. Another show, to be held the preceding day, also sold out. Oasis were still minnows in the USA, but in the UK, they were becoming like a modern day Led Zep.

The following summer, and Oasis played not one but two gigs at Knebworth, effectively a big field with thousands and thousands of people standing miles away from the stage. It was seen, by some, as the ultimate moment for the band - an indie band playing the sort of venue that had previously been inhabited by the likes of Pink Floyd, but for others, it was the beginning of the end, the sign of a band playing a venue far too impersonal, and surely, by playing to so many people, there must have been some people in the crowd who weren’t your typical NME style nerd, there must have been some people who latched onto the band thanks to their lad-rock tendencies, but didn’t quite understand any of it? Still, it was a big deal. Radio 1 broadcast the second gig, and as the show approached the point at which two new songs were to be played, the broadcast switched to a tape of the previous night, starting off with the next song the band played after the new ones, such was the fear of playing into the bootleggers hands at the time.

In the run up to 1997’s “Be Here Now”, everybody was banging on about the band. I seem to recall that MTV got to air the video for the lead single, “D’You Know What I Mean?” before anybody else, and spent about half an hour talking about how they were going to be playing it once they’d finished talking about playing it, and such was the fear of import copies of the album hitting the UK before stock copies could be issued, that Creation decided to release it “early”, issuing it on a Thursday, rather than the planned following Monday. Such was the popularity of the band, that it sailed to the top spot, still managing to sell more copies in half a week than most of the rest of the top ten put together could manage in a full week.

Critics worshipped the album, it was an 8/10 in the NME, but by the end of the year, something was amiss. The band were starting to experience something of a backlash, as one or two dissenters began to ask whether or not Oasis really were the second coming. The argument was, that their beloved Beatles did “Revolver”, “Sgt Pepper” and “The White Album”, whilst Oasis were still seemingly playing the same songs that they had put on their first LP, only with different chords. Soon enough, “Be Here Now” was being retrospectively slagged off, with people stating that it was quite obviously the sound of too many people taking too many drugs - it had a seemingly never ending wall of sound sound, everything went on for about seven or eight minutes, and it was now being regarded as a mess, overblown and over the top, rather than being grandiose and epic. I don’t think the LP is quite the disaster that people now claim it is, certainly “All Around The World” is their best Beatles pastiche. But it speaks volumes about the general consensus surrounding this LP that 1998’s B-sides set, “The Masterplan”, is now seen as being a superior record.

Noel himself began to acknowledge the flaws that marred “Be Here Now”, and so attempts were made with the next LP to try and not make the same mistakes again. The band formed their own label, Big Brother, and the band logo was “modernised” for the new century. Band members other than Noel would get the chance to write material for the next LP, with Liam’s much derided “Little James” being lined up for the next record. But once again, there was trouble at t’mill. Both Bonehead and Guigsy left the band during the recording sessions for the fourth studio LP. Some years earlier, Noel had (petulantly) claimed that “Guigsy Is Oasis”, when he left the band as they toured the “Morning Glory” album due to “issues”. “If he don’t come back, we will split” he said in one form or another. Watch the “Wonderwall” video. See the bassist? That ain’t Guigsy. Anyway, five years on, and Noel had obviously changed his mind, and as the two remaining original members - except the brothers - walked, the band simply carried on. Extra guitar and bass parts were taped by Noel in the studio, and thus it was a three piece Oasis of Liam, Noel and Alan White that released 2000’s “Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants”.

By now, the critics were more than prepared to attack the “meat and two veg” indie scene, and Oasis were the godfathers of said scene. As such, the LP was loved by some, hated by others, and although it stripped away a lot of the “overblown” sound of “Be Here Now”, it has often been regarded as simply a poorer album than the first two, with even Noel admitting it’s failings some years later. It doesn’t have the “punch” of those first two records, and whilst it is by no means a disaster, it was still the sound of a band struggling to match their past - think of it as Oasis’ own “Goats Head Soup”.

By the time the band started touring the record, their ranks had swelled back to a five piece thanks to the addition of two members from what were also, at one point, Creation label bands. Gem Archer from Heavy Stereo replaced Bonehead, but the most surprising change was the addition of one time Ride guitarist Andy Bell, as bass player. Some people wondered why Bell was taking this “demotion” - from lead guitar to bass, from psychedelic indie-poppers to a band once dubbed “Quoasis” by a rival - but Bell seemed to relish the opportunity. The first record to be made by this version of the band was 2002’s “Heathen Chemistry”, which features song writing contributions from everybody except White, and was regarded by many as something of a return to form - more energised than “Giants”, less bombastic than “Be Here Now”. It was home to the greatest post-millennium Oasis song, in the form of “Stop Crying Your Heart Out” - pure Beatles yes, but achingly beautiful.

Despite now seeming to have re-discovered their mojo, it was soon time for another line up change, with Alan White being “ejected” from the band in 2004 as work began on the next LP, due to “commitment issues”. Different drummers were brought in to assist, and although Zak Starkey played on most of the album, and stayed with the band for their next tour, he was not “officially” welcomed into the band, and Oasis remained a four-piece - which they would continue to do until their demise.

2005’s “Don’t Believe The Truth” was regarded as a triumph, helped in part by the fact that some of the album sounded un-Oasis-like, and was thus seen as a forward thinking departure. Trouble is, some of the singles were a bit weak, with lead single “Lyla” being a skiffle-ish throwaway, a bit like a La’s B-side, and although “The Importance Of Being Idle” benefited from a cameo from Rhys Ifans in the video, it still sounds to me to be one of the most underwhelming singles the band ever issued. Even the likes of “Go Let it Out”, from those troublesome post-”Be Here Now” years, had a bite to them that this one didn’t. Still, at least the other single, “Let There Be Love”, sounded like it had come straight off “Abbey Road”, so the band hadn’t totally disowned their past.

2008’s “Dig Out Your Soul” continued the feel good factor, with critics continuing to claim that the band were now actually “quite good” again, and the singles this time seemed full of life - “The Shock Of The Lightning” snarled at you from the speakers, whilst “I’m Outta Time” was basically the sound of John Paul George and Ringo for the 21st century. Furthermore, in an attempt to “move with the times”, songs were remixed as bonus tracks for various releases, not the first time the band had ventured into the world of “dance”, but it was certainly the first time that they had been prepared to allow their music to be re-worked for the shape throwers on the dance floors in such large numbers.

And then, it all went horribly wrong. Even now, I am still not sure just how this band collapsed. It seemed to involve playing the first show of the “two headline slots” V Festival in 2009, before Liam pulled out of the second show, citing an illness. Noel questioned his commitment, and when the band reconvened for another festival slot in France several days later, the Gallaghers had one of their famous punch ups, but this time, it was the final straw. Despite having briefly split up at least once in the 1990’s, this time it was permanent - Noel announced he was leaving Oasis, any future shows were abandoned, and in the end, Oasis ceased to exist. It was rumoured that, with three quarters of the band still in place, Liam and Co could have continued with the name, but in the end, Oasis died that night, and Beady Eye came into existence. And where were Blur when all this was going on? Well, despite a few “periods of rest”, they were - and are - still going. A few years ago, Damon would have loved all this in-band fisticuffs, but it turns out he quite likes Noel and Oasis and the Oasis split did not cause Albarn and Co to have a laugh at their expense. Indeed, such is the poor state of indie guitar bands at the moment (who’d have thought, ten years ago, that the likes of The Vaccines would get top billing on “Later With Jools Holland”), you can’t help but think that the demise of Oasis is ultimately a bad thing.

Formats and Releases

Given that the band’s earlier LP releases coincided with the slow burning death of vinyl, but at a time before it was finally dead and buried by everyone except the collecting crowd, it should come as no surprise to know that both “Definitely Maybe” and “Morning Glory” were issued on LP with “vinyl only bonus tracks”. The former included an exclusive track called “Sad Song”, although this got a second lease of life when it turned up as the B-side of the Japanese only “Don’t Go Away” single in 1998. “MG” added “Bonehead’s Bank Holiday”, which re-appeared quite soon after the event on a freebie cassette given away with one of the UK music papers.

“Be Here Now”, such was the OTT nature of it’s release, came emblazoned in a sleeve which had the release date displayed on the front cover. And given that the release date of the UK one pre-dated the US one by several days, this means the cover comes in different editions dependent on which country you get hold of one from. “Giants” was never officially issued in any special edition, but both soon after it’s initial release, and to coincide with the Summer 2000 tour, some stores gave away a “free” Oasis gift if you bought the LP, with both freebie VHS and CD releases being tossed out in different shops.

There were no particularly special editions of “Heathen Chemistry” in the UK, although Australian copies did come with a free DVD. However, the follow up “Don’t Believe The Truth” did initially come with a free DVD, although it was one of those “watch once, then never again” varieties. “Dig Out Your Soul” was issued as an over-priced box set, with bonus remixes on a second CD, and some slightly superfluous slabs of vinyl, and although some of these mixes later appeared as b-sides, many didn’t - and so this is still the version to get if you want to “tick all the boxes”.

Oasis, being retro-types (and I mean that in a good way), were more than happy to indulge when it came to single releases. As fans of bands who had made their debut releases back in the days when the 7” single was all you had (Beatles, Who, Stones), the band released many of their initial singles on the format. They also entertained the concept of the EP, and so released these singles as 4-track CD Singles as well, along with other formats inbetween. Basically, they went down the “pay your money, and take your choice” route for the first album, by releasing singles as 2-track 7” singles (albeit sometimes in limited edition packaging), 2-track Cassettes, and a 3-track 12”, which added a bonus B-side, but which cost more. For the CD, they added a second bonus B-side to complete the “EP” style, and again, you had to shell out a bit more cash for these.

The band’s only stand alone 45 was 1994’s “Whatever”, although don’t go getting excited as to what might be on the CD version - one of the so-called B-sides was “DM” album track, “Slide Away”, the single that never was (it appeared as a one track promo some weeks before), so like previous Oasis singles, you actually only got three new songs on the CD edition.

Although there was, by the summer of 95, a restriction on the number of formats that would be eligible towards chart sales, and thus chart position, Oasis continued to release singles from the second LP on the four standard formats, with the CD Single still being used as the “EP” style format. At the tail end of 1996, round about the same time the band played the Earls Court shows, they issued two CD Single Boxsets - one concentrating on the four releases from “DM”, and the second featuring the four from “MG”. Each box included repressings of the relevant singles, in their original sleeves and with their original catalogue numbers. I seem to recall the CD editions of their singles were left on catalogue for some years, and so the aim of these boxsets was not really to make available again “hard to find” releases, but probably just to make a few quid. Each box included an “Interviews” single, which was exclusive to the box, and despite the potential “cash in” nature of the releases, Creation did accept that a large number of fans would already have had these singles, and so made available “empty” versions of the two boxes - apart from the “Interviews” disc, the box contained no other singles, and fans could fill the box up with their own singles. These “empty” boxes were identifiable by the fact that they had a sticker on the front, advising buyers that the box included the “Interview CD And Booklet Only”. Of course, by concentrating on singles from the LP’s, it meant that “Whatever” was left high and dry. As an aside, it’s worth noting that even though the boxes were seen as a bit of a collectors thing, it didn’t tell you the whole story - in Japan, “Some Might Say” had appeared as a 6-track release which included a couple of exclusive extra B-sides, neither or which have ever been made available in the UK since. Several other songs from “Morning Glory” appeared as singles overseas, including the title track, but apart from radio edits, nothing rare appears on any of these releases.

For the “Be Here Now” releases, the group continued to venture down the 4-formats path, with the CD single still offering three extra B-sides with each release. The only difference by now, was that the CD singles were appearing in card digipack sleeves, rather than the slim line jewel cases used for the previous singles. The first release on Big Brother, with it’s customised catalogue number system (RKID, as in “Our Kid”), and also the first Oasis release with the new logo, was the first single from “Giants”, “Go Let It Out”. Again, singles were still appearing on the four standard formats, although by now, chart rules regarding the number of bonus tracks had changed, and with the CD being restricted to just three tracks in total, now meant the CD and 12” editions of singles from this album were identical music-wise. The only slight exception was the follow up “Who Feels Love?”, which included the video as part of the enhanced CD-Rom section of the CD Single.

The band had never really gone down the “multi format” route, until 2002’s “Heathen Chemistry”. For this LP, the band made a habit of issuing both a CD Single (amongst others) and a DVD Single, which featured exclusive video material. Things went a bit wrong with the third single release, a double A of “Little By Little” and “She Is Love”. Because the chart rules placed a lot of restrictions on what you could have on the DVD edition, there wasn’t much scope for putting both songs on the release, and despite the fact that both songs were prominently displayed on the front cover, there was no version of “She Is Love” on the DVD at all!

The multi formatting carried on with releases from “DBTT”, but the fourth “non chart eligible” format had been abandoned here, although the band continued to release singles on 7”, presumably as a throw back to their past. “Let There Be Love” appeared on 10” rather than 7”, probably because it was nearly six minutes long, so might have been a bit of a squeeze to get it onto the latter.

By the time of “Dig Out Your Soul”, the DVD Single was more or less defunct, the bizarre chart rules meaning that often the format featured more audio material than video. In keeping with their new found love of disco, extra vinyl formats were issued to house some of these mixes - “I’m Outta Time” appeared on two different 7” versions, one with exclusive material, whilst the 12” of “Falling Down” appeared with a 22-minute long “psychedelic” remix of the track filling up the entire release. This single turned out to be the final Oasis 45.

Had Oasis not thrown in the towel when they did, there would probably have been less compilations than there currently are now. 1998’s “The Masterplan” was a selective, non-chronological trawl through the band’s flipsides. Alternate versions of otherwise available Oasis tunes were not included (so the demo mix of “Columbia”, commercially released on the flip of “Supersonic”, is absent), but it did not have to be a studio mix in order to be included - so the band’s incendiary live take on “I Am the Walrus” appears midway.

2006’s “Stop The Clocks” was released to mark the end of the band’s association with Sony - although the band were still releasing material on Big Brother, much of the “backroom” work was via Sony. Sony had angered the band by asking them, on “DBTT”, to specifically record a lead single, which turned out to be “Lyla”, and so this compilation was seen as a signing off from the label. It was a sort of random trawl through the singles, album tracks and B-sides, although there were some unplanned rarities due to the inclusion of material from “Morning Glory”, which on the original LP had segued into or out of other songs, and were thus slightly tampered with for this collection. Initial copies came with a free DVD, whilst copies sold via HMV came with a second bonus DVD EP, with a couple of live recordings. Although this disc was sold as a separate entity, there was enough space in the packaging of the 3-disc “Clocks” to slot the freebie inside (it came in a card sleeve, and the album came in an outer slipcase), so if you see somebody offering a 4-disc version of this record, that is the reason why. An EP of the same name was issued the week before, led by the B-side “Acquiesce”, regarded by many as being better than some of the band’s A-sides.

With Oasis now finished by the end of 2009, “Time Flies” appeared, barely three years after “Stop The Clocks“. It was a more simple run through the hits, albeit in a random order, and also included the “download only” single, “Lord Don’t Slow Me Down”. A bewildering number of variant editions were made, including a boxset with a free live album and a DVD of promo clips. The collection also appeared as a DVD in it’s own right, housed in a different coloured sleeve.

Despite gaining something of a reputation as a good live band, especially in the early days (Liam’s voice came in for some stick in later times), the band only ever issued one live album, 2000’s “Familiar To Millions”. For some reason, the cover featured just Liam and Noel on the front, despite the fact that the band had expanded to the “Gem/White/Andy” five piece at the start of the tour. It appeared on a variety of formats, each easily identifiable by coming in a different coloured sleeve, and also appeared on DVD/VHS editions, as well as the audio versions. In order to help “sell” the audio version, an extra track not on the DVD was tagged on the end, a live version of “Helter Skelter”. The band had some years earlier recorded a studio version of the same song, which turned up as the b-side of “Who Feels Love?”.

Although live LP’s are thin on the ground, there are a few live videos. 1995’s “Live By The Sea” was taped at the band’s show at the Cliffs Pavilion in Southend earlier that year. Although the show would seem to be a document of Oasis’ “club show” years, this was actually a sold-out warm up gig for a concert at the much larger Sheffield Arena several days later. 1996’s “There And Then”, is not as the title suggests a comparison between the early days and the later, more of a comparison between the arena shows and the stadium ones. The Earls Court gigs from 1995 are documented, along with stadium show footage from a gig at the old Manchester City ground (the Gallagher’s football team), Maine Road, from 1996. When first released, the Video included a free 3-track EP, housed in it’s own card sleeve, which included exclusive recordings from both these shows and the Knebworth gig. Aside from the aforementioned video releases, the only other live document is on the “Lord Don’t Slow Me Down” documentary DVD from 2007, which includes a bonus DVD featuring a 2005 gig at the new Man City ground.

And that’s not all. A number of other odds and sods have been included on Various Artists compilations over the years, whilst “Definitely Maybe” got a bizarre DVD only reissue in 2004, with the entire album being released in “video form”, via a collection of promo videos and live clips. There also exists a newspaper freebie album called “The Dreams We Have As Children” from 2009. Ostensibly a Noel Gallagher solo album (it‘s a 2007 London gig), given free with The Sunday Times, it came in a sleeve that used the same design as “Dig Out Your Soul”, and consisted of Oasis songs and a couple of covers. Gem also features, and given that - by this point - Noel had not really done much solo work outside of the live environment, and helped by that sleeve design, I tend to think of this as an Oasis album of sorts. OK, so being a solo acoustic album means you kind of know what you’re getting, but I would suggest you keep an eye out for it.

Discography

What we have below is the audio side of the Oasis discography, more or less. For the singles, I have listed the original formats that contained exclusive material, although I think one or two of the bonus tracks shown have turned up in one or two places since. For the albums, I have listed the original CD pressings, as these are usually the “format of choice”.

Note: “The Masterplan” made available a number of B-sides from the 94-97 period, some of which were the “extra extra” track on the relevant CD Single. For fun, I thought I would do a second 45’s list from the period, which details which non-CD singles are worth looking out for if you have “The Masterplan”. However, given that those CD singles seemed to get reissued again and again, you probably have far more chance of getting hold of the CD version of these singles, as opposed to the vinyl editions. And they will probably be cheaper as well. But here goes anyway.

It’s also worth noting that all of the Creation-era CD singles were reissued on the band’s own Big Brother imprint in 2000, so you probably have more chance of getting these singles on CD due to the sheer numbers pressed both originally and when they were reissued.